Local Spotlight: Sarah Brown of Pai Skincare

Pai Skincare founder Sarah Brown knows all about sensitive skin. She suffered for years with it until she decided to tackle the problem herself and create a skincare line that actually calms and restores the skin. The range is extensive – from eye creams containing super anti-aging Echium to Rosehip BioRegenerate Fruit and Seed Oil Blend. You won’t find any chemicals or parfum in Pai products. All ingredients are listed, so you know exactly what’s going on your skin.

WLM recently caught up with Chiswick based Sarah Brown:

What drew you to create natural products?
I was first inspired to create a natural skincare range after years of battling a bad skin allergy, called urticaria. I was conscious that my anti-histamine medication only masked the symptoms, so I set about searching for a more holistic way to manage my condition long term. I couldn’t find any skincare products that worked for me and the more I searched the more disillusioned I became. I couldn’t believe the number of beauty products claiming to be ‘organic’ that weren’t certified and still contained a long list of harsh chemicals and irritants. There is currently no labelling regulation controlling the use of the terms ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ on beauty products. I came to the task of starting Pai with the mindset of a frustrated customer and fixed all the things that bothered me about other products I’d tried on my aggravated skin and rejected.

What makes your products so effective?
The complete Pai range is certified organic by the Soil Association and is designed specifically for people with sensitive skin. We formulate all of our own products, so we’re experts on ingredients and don’t compromise by adding irritating chemicals or alcohol. I believe that you can’t make a high quality product without investing in high quality natural ingredients.

All of our ingredients are of the highest grade and gently extracted without solvents to protect the full remedial properties of the plant.

Organic beauty products used to lack sophistication both in terms of quality, skin-feel and appearance. The sector has come along way in the past ten years and some organic products are really pushing the boundaries to rival the mega mainstream brands in terms of performance.

At Pai we work hard to stay on top of the latest industry innovations and new natural-active ingredients to ensure our products don’t just look good but pack a punch too.

What measures do you take to ensure your products are ethical?
Being ethically accountable is at the heart of our business. Pai doesn’t carry out any animal testing, nor does it source ingredients from companies that do. Our range is also 95% vegan and we’re currently working towards removing the beeswax from our lip balm to become completely vegan friendly. Under the Soil Association standards, all of our ingredients have to be sustainably grown and without the use of pesticides and fertilisers. They also have to carry non GM certificates. Where possible we also purchase Fair Trade ingredients such as our Shea butter, which comes from an amazing Women’s Community Project in Ghana.

What policies does Pai have to minimise its carbon footprint?
We make a conscious effort to ensure Pai’s carbon footprint is as small as possible through each stage of our production processes. As well as sustainable sourcing, we also keep our moisturiser miles to a minimum by purchasing ingredients from as close to home as possible.

This product is Natalie Portman’s moisturiser of choice! She recently named it her ‘skincare favourite’ which has certainly helped its cult status – we sold out within days!

Where can we find Pai products?
Pai products are stocked in a number of stores across the UK. A full list of stockists can be found on our website. Customers can also buy online from www.paiskincare.com.

With the likes of Natalie Portman declaring Pai as part of her beauty routine, it’s only a matter of time before Pai goes from cult status to mainstream. Stock up now!